Over the Hills
by gentlewinnix
Summary: They're older now than they used to be, but the love remains. Winnix.


**Author's Note: **Tags include: Canon Era, Post-War, Old Men In Love, Established Relationship, Birthday Fluff, Referenced Diabetes.

* * *

Lew is lying in bed with Dick one winter morning when he notices, for perhaps the first time, that Dick's hair isn't growing in red anymore. He'd had it cut recently, trimmed up the way he'd always had it during the war and after. Lew reaches out to touch the pale orange locks, feeling how thin they've become. His heart tightens in his chest and he lets out a soft noise of discontent.

Dick murmurs and rolls over, blinking at Lew groggily.

"Lew?"

Lew looks at Dick's face. He still looks the same, just with more wrinkles, his freckles faded. There's more fullness to his cheeks now than there ever was before, something Lew takes pride in. He'd made sure that Dick was well-fed every day since coming back home.

"Hi," he says. He's tired, aching from the night before and the cold of the room. Some days he's too hot to lie under the fleece blankets Dick is so fond of, but now he's got all three of them pulled up over his shoulder. Dick gives him a worried look and scoots up closer to him.

"Everything okay?" he asks.

"Yeah," Lew says quietly. "Just thinking."

"Wanna talk about it?" Dick reaches up to rub slow circles into Lew's bicep. He presses a kiss to the skin there.

"Nothing worth talking about." Lew smiles. "You know how I am."

Dick hums and leans in to kiss Lew. Lew surrenders to him, closes his eyes and parts his lips to deepen the kiss, his hands finding Dick's naked hips and coaxing him up on top.

He finds himself wondering how many times they've done this. He can remember their first time, clear as day - in Schoonderlogt, the night after Dick had been promoted to XO. Lew had been drunk- though not as drunk as usual- and chanced a celebratory kiss. He hadn't expected Dick to take over, pushing him onto the bed and kissing him until his lips were swollen.

Now he moves above him lazily, placing kisses all along Lew's body, rubbing slow circles into his hips with calloused fingers. He slips his hand down further but Lew grunts and pushes him away.

"I'm still sore," he says. "Can we just-?"

"Yeah," Dick murmurs, "yeah, okay." His touch retreats back up to Lew's stomach. Lew thinks about Dick's sexual appetite. He'd been shocked to discover that Dick could be reduced to a shivering, moaning mess one night and be fired up and ready to go again come next morning. Lew had never had that kind of stamina; he needs a good rest, some breakfast, and a shower before he's a functional human being again.

They lie in bed together until Dick gets too restless to stay still, and then he coaxes Lew into showering with him. He stands behind Lew under the hot spray with his arms around Lew's waist, nuzzling affectionately into his neck. They've both gotten softer with one another over the years; since Lew had quit the bottle Dick had fought with him less and less, and now Lew can't recall the last time they'd argued with any real heat.

Mostly, Lew is tired. He hasn't worked since Nixon Nitration went under- they live off of Dick's business now. It'd been rough at the start, back when they were young and needier than they are now, but they'd gotten by and done well for themselves. When Lew learned he was diabetic they gave him medications and a schedule to follow, and he does his best to keep up now, Dick at his side every step of the way.

"Do you think you can handle breakfast?" Lew asks when they're towelling off. Dick glances over at him from where he's standing over the sink, about to brush his teeth.

"Sure," he says. "You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just tired is all." Lew smiles reassuringly, scrubbing his hair dry. "Little sore, too."

"Should've told me to take it easy on you," Dick says around his toothbrush. "I went a little crazy."

"Ah, you know how it is," Lew counters. "Still thinkin' we're 20 sometimes."

"Even with the grey hairs?" Dick cracks a grin at him.

"Honestly, Dick, I hadn't noticed them 'til now."

Dick laughs, and Lew thinks it's kind of funny, too; that he's so preoccupied with loving Dick that he hasn't noticed the years go by. He smiles and goes to get dressed. These days you can get away with wearing soft T-shirts and sweatpants in public. Dick thinks Lew looks funny in them, like he just rolled out of bed. Dick has never given up on his plaid button-down shirts and stiff slacks. At least they're no longer made with wool. Lew always hated the feeling of wool.

When he's dressed in what Dick affectionately calls his 'daytime pajamas,' he follows Dick downstairs. There's a calendar on the wall at the foot of the stairs and he looks to see that Dick's birthday is this week. Of course, Dick hadn't bothered to mark the actual date, but Lew remembers.

He resolves then to treat Dick to something special.

Dick makes them both scrambled eggs and toast, Lew sitting at the table coaching him along while he takes his insulin. Dick's gotten pretty good at cooking the basic stuff; he can make anything that's foolproof with the recipe. But Lew still won't let him touch the coffee machine.

"What do you wanna do today?" Dick asks him over breakfast.

"Sleep," Lew says honestly. At Dick's look he defends himself, "Hey, you wore me out last night."

Dick grins. "Sorry," he says insincerely. "I need to pick up some things from the hardware store, to fix the fence. Do you want to come with?"

"Sure," Lew says. He nibbles on his toast, watching Dick slide on his glasses and start to read the paper. Lew has glasses now, too, but he hates to wear them. Usually he just asks Dick to read things aloud; Dick has a nice reading voice. He sits contentedly until Lew gets up to put his plate away, and then there's the rustle of the paper being folded, the quiet scrape of the chair as Dick moves to stand. Lew washes his plate and follows Dick to the closet to put their coats and boots on.

Dick frowns when they step outside, popping his collar. "I need a scarf," he mutters.

Lew smiles. "Noted," he says.

* * *

On Dick's birthday Lew wakes up earlier than usual. He puts on Dick's bathrobe and goes downstairs as quietly as he can manage. He takes out the quiche he'd made while Dick slept the night before and puts it in the oven to reheat. Lew goes back upstairs and crawls onto the bed to kiss Dick awake.

"Good morning," he murmurs as Dick blinks groggily up at him.

"Mmm. Morning, Lew." Dick smiles and pulls Lew down for a kiss, slow and passionate the way Lew likes it. He coaxes Lew into straddling his hips and sighs as their bodies press together, separated by the covers.

"I like where this is going," Lew says, "but there's food cooking downstairs."

Dick pulls back, grinning in disbelief. "You spoil me."

"It's all I'm good for," Lew remarks, kissing Dick's nose. "C'mon, food."

Dick heaves a dramatic sigh and makes a show of emerging from under the covers. Lew admires his figure, no longer lean and strapped with muscle the way it used to be, but attractive nevertheless. Dick picks Lew's robe from the closet hook and follows him downstairs. Lew had set the table already, plates and silverware out with two glasses of orange juice accompanying them, a newspaper and pencil on Dick's side. He helps Dick sit down and goes to the oven, taking out the quiche.

"Something special about today?" Dick asks, looking perplexed.

"Well, you're a year older today," Lew says teasingly, "but no, that's nothing special."

Dick glances at the calendar and turns back to Lew with a smile. "I guess you're right."

"Happy birthday, sweetheart." Lew kisses Dick's temple and scoops a slice of the quiche onto Dick's plate. Dick drags him down for another kiss before taking a bite of the quiche. His face lights up as he gets a taste of it- fluffy eggs and bacon with cheese, his favorite- and he smiles.

"Thanks, Lew."

"I've got a few other presents for you," Lew promises.

"Oh, you didn't have to go through the trouble," Dick says, but he looks ecstatic anyway. Lew smirks and takes a forkful of his quiche.

After they've eaten breakfast and showered, Lew brings out a box.

"Couldn't find any wrapping paper," he says apologetically. "But here. Happy birthday, Dick." Lew holds the box out and Dick takes it, his lips quirking up in that tiny smile Lew loves so much. He opens it carefully and chuckles when he sees it.

"You're always listening, huh?" Dick pulls out the scarf to inspect it; red plaid fleece with strips cut on both ends, it matches the inside his favorite grey coat.

"Put it on," Lew says, "I wanna see it on you." Dick wraps the scarf around his neck. Lew smiles, reaching over to fuss with it until it sits right.

"You look younger," he murmurs, and Dick pulls him in for a kiss.


End file.
